JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
As it sits today. Will try to put this in some order once I have the rest of the pictures.
![20221212_161855[1].jpg](https://irate4x4.com/attachments/20221212_161855-1-jpg.618388/ "20221212_161855[1].jpg")
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The Scoob
- Thread starter JNHEscher
- Start date
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Started out with a bone stock 2001 Legacy Outback. 2.5 SOHC, 5MT.
When we lived in Alamosa, CO., I was able to walk or ride by bike to anything as it was all within a few blocks. Once we moved out to Fort Garland, I needed a 4WD or AWD ride. Had to be one or the other because 2WD vehicles got stuck in the valley all over the place.
First two pics are of it partially loaded for one of two of the last trips between Fort Garland and the house we had just bought in Yoder, CO. All that shit strapped on top, sticks of tubing, angle, etc. strapped underneath, and that homemade truck bed trailer eventually overloaded.
This thing managed to pull this over the icy La Veta summit, only beginning to fishtail once. By about 2:30 am, in 13* weather on Hanover Rd. (almost directly east of Pikes Peak), the strap holding the rear of the sticks to the underside had let go. I left the car running with the heat on because both our boys were asleep in their car seats. I got it bandaided enough to make it the last 15 miles. Dead tired, we got to the house by 4am.
When we lived in Alamosa, CO., I was able to walk or ride by bike to anything as it was all within a few blocks. Once we moved out to Fort Garland, I needed a 4WD or AWD ride. Had to be one or the other because 2WD vehicles got stuck in the valley all over the place.
First two pics are of it partially loaded for one of two of the last trips between Fort Garland and the house we had just bought in Yoder, CO. All that shit strapped on top, sticks of tubing, angle, etc. strapped underneath, and that homemade truck bed trailer eventually overloaded.
This thing managed to pull this over the icy La Veta summit, only beginning to fishtail once. By about 2:30 am, in 13* weather on Hanover Rd. (almost directly east of Pikes Peak), the strap holding the rear of the sticks to the underside had let go. I left the car running with the heat on because both our boys were asleep in their car seats. I got it bandaided enough to make it the last 15 miles. Dead tired, we got to the house by 4am.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Lost my last post or two here that was starting to describe the rear suspension build. No luck getting all my build pics from two or three years ago, either.
Anyway, I remember some thread about joint width fitment and me mentioning that my 2001 Outback trailing arm eye mount was a direct fit for 2.625" mount width and 9/16"/14mm bolt size.
Rusty's 2.5 builder joint body OD machined down to be a press fit in the rear trailing arm eye. Can't remember where I found the Ford mounting bracket for the lower rear lateral, but that was also a direct fit to the knuckle with some poly bushings that were also a direct fit.
Anyway, I remember some thread about joint width fitment and me mentioning that my 2001 Outback trailing arm eye mount was a direct fit for 2.625" mount width and 9/16"/14mm bolt size.
Rusty's 2.5 builder joint body OD machined down to be a press fit in the rear trailing arm eye. Can't remember where I found the Ford mounting bracket for the lower rear lateral, but that was also a direct fit to the knuckle with some poly bushings that were also a direct fit.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Trailing arm bushing knocked out. I had used Rusty's 2.5's on a tow bar so I was able to measure the bodies to determine machining and fitment.
Looks like a sketched this stuff out in Fusion at some point.
Looks like a sketched this stuff out in Fusion at some point.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Not sure what steel Rusty's uses for these, but they are awfully soft. Machined a lot like cast iron.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
I had bought DIY beadlocks for this from Total Metal Innovations. When I opened the box, I saw the worst cnc plasma cuts I had ever received. Every cut is very slanted and oversized. Won't buy from him again.
Might eventually draw up some for Send Cut Send to laser cut for me. I had a guy water jet me a steel beadlock ring years ago. I sent him the file from SketchUp and his machine was dead nuts on.
Might eventually draw up some for Send Cut Send to laser cut for me. I had a guy water jet me a steel beadlock ring years ago. I sent him the file from SketchUp and his machine was dead nuts on.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Looks to be when I was welding the Ford brackets onto some DOM tubing for the lower laterals in the rear. I'm thinking I might have found the Ford brackets on Sky's Off-Road.
7/8" tube ends from Ballistic Fab, if I remember right. I made the upper laterals for the rear and used Rock Krawler 7/8" anti-wobble joints.
This being a Japanese multi-link, like all others, there's quite a bit of binding that takes place in the OE rubber bushings. I chose the longer upper lateral that I deemed fitting for the situation and ended up using the shorter links for the front control arms.
Most everything has been tig welded. Root pass on the tube end.
7/8" tube ends from Ballistic Fab, if I remember right. I made the upper laterals for the rear and used Rock Krawler 7/8" anti-wobble joints.
This being a Japanese multi-link, like all others, there's quite a bit of binding that takes place in the OE rubber bushings. I chose the longer upper lateral that I deemed fitting for the situation and ended up using the shorter links for the front control arms.
Most everything has been tig welded. Root pass on the tube end.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
This was just before we were moving back to Missouri. Had much of the rear suspension done and some sheet metal trimmed to barely fit the BFG's. Tried to sell the car in CO for a while. Never got any interest until a few weeks after we finished hauling everything to MO 
Believe it or not, all four of those tires fit just right in the back seat. I packed all the parts into the car and flat towed this bitch all the way from Yoder, CO. to Dogwood, MO. with the rear on the bump stops, tires showing belt, cracks in the sidewalls, and tow lights that were as dim as can be.
Believe it or not, all four of those tires fit just right in the back seat. I packed all the parts into the car and flat towed this bitch all the way from Yoder, CO. to Dogwood, MO. with the rear on the bump stops, tires showing belt, cracks in the sidewalls, and tow lights that were as dim as can be.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Everything from here down is much more current.
Got back to tinkering on it over the summer. I had the rear on some Gabriel 49203 Hi-Jacker air shocks. Thought the rear of the car would be light enough for the shocks to lift it. Best I could do was 120psi off the dump truck and that wouldn't make it budge. I have leveling valves, air line, fittings, etc., but am missing the Viair compressor that I had for it.
Would love to have this on air. The Gabriels were a cheap option. Next step up is probably some RideTech air shocks, but the price is a no go. So I found some $8 closeout OE fit coilovers to slap in.
Got back to tinkering on it over the summer. I had the rear on some Gabriel 49203 Hi-Jacker air shocks. Thought the rear of the car would be light enough for the shocks to lift it. Best I could do was 120psi off the dump truck and that wouldn't make it budge. I have leveling valves, air line, fittings, etc., but am missing the Viair compressor that I had for it.
Would love to have this on air. The Gabriels were a cheap option. Next step up is probably some RideTech air shocks, but the price is a no go. So I found some $8 closeout OE fit coilovers to slap in.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Coils ended up sitting lower than how I had set up the air ride. Some strut lift blocks were necessary. In the first pic, you can see the upper lateral made with DOM, Ballistic ends, and Rock Krawler joints.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
I was originally going to cut into the foot wells and weld in some plate to make clearance for the front tires to steer, but after studying the layout of the front end, I decided to move the ball joint position forward. This was going to require a little shaving.
The passenger side had an extended-travel CV axle that was going to impede with the engine/suspension cradle. I swapped in a standard axle.
Might be a bit difficult to see what's going on, but I made a quick mock-up of what moving the ball joint forward would do. Unbolted the passenger side control arm from the body and cradle so that I could shift the front bushing of the control arm to the leading side of the bushing mount. This moved the assembly forward by 2.255" which allowed the tires to clear the wheel tub.
The passenger side had an extended-travel CV axle that was going to impede with the engine/suspension cradle. I swapped in a standard axle.
Might be a bit difficult to see what's going on, but I made a quick mock-up of what moving the ball joint forward would do. Unbolted the passenger side control arm from the body and cradle so that I could shift the front bushing of the control arm to the leading side of the bushing mount. This moved the assembly forward by 2.255" which allowed the tires to clear the wheel tub.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Shot of one of the finished lateral links that was for the rear. I used to have a couple pics of the comparison between using the shorter lateral versus the longer lateral. Short lats caused the wheels to arc with the inboard cv joints, but kept the outboard joints pretty well centered. Longer lats allow the wheels to move up and down with minimal camber change and greater overall wheel travel.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Had the rear pretty well set for the time being. So on to the front.
Had some more Rock Krawler joints left over from another project and they were there right size to replace the rear bushings of the front control arms. Had a small tub full of Ballistic tabs. Used a couple for the first visualization.
Ended up getting some axle brackets for the rear joints. Got them from Barnes, I think. Started mocking them up so that I could get the ball centers lined up with where the center of the OE bushings sat.
Started tacking the rear joint brackets in place. This was all fairly awkward to get done and by no means the accuracy I would prefer to have when building suspension parts. The stacks tabs just happened to be the exact thickness of 1.5" to set the height position of the joint center identical to the height position of the OE bushing.
Had some more Rock Krawler joints left over from another project and they were there right size to replace the rear bushings of the front control arms. Had a small tub full of Ballistic tabs. Used a couple for the first visualization.
Ended up getting some axle brackets for the rear joints. Got them from Barnes, I think. Started mocking them up so that I could get the ball centers lined up with where the center of the OE bushings sat.
Started tacking the rear joint brackets in place. This was all fairly awkward to get done and by no means the accuracy I would prefer to have when building suspension parts. The stacks tabs just happened to be the exact thickness of 1.5" to set the height position of the joint center identical to the height position of the OE bushing.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
I had to come up with something to bridge between upper tab and the bracket. Had some square tubing on hang that fit the 14mm bolt flanges.
Got the squares positioned and ran some root passes. Started on second passes, but I was topping out at 70 amps on an inverter at the time.
Got the squares positioned and ran some root passes. Started on second passes, but I was topping out at 70 amps on an inverter at the time.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Generator allowed me to kick it up to 120 amps.
Got the majority of both brackets welded up. Added a gusset to each.
Got the majority of both brackets welded up. Added a gusset to each.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
This is how I ended up jigging the OE arms on my table.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Tacked the ball joints, center support tabs, and support bolts to the table.
It was time to hack off the ball joint sleeves.
Stuck the sleeves in the lathe to get them roundish. The OD's weren't quite what I was expecting, so I built them up with mig and machined them to 1.25".
It was time to hack off the ball joint sleeves.
Stuck the sleeves in the lathe to get them roundish. The OD's weren't quite what I was expecting, so I built them up with mig and machined them to 1.25".
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Broke out the tubing cutter. This and my lathe are still my only two options for making clean, square cuts in round tubing.
1-5/8" 0.188 DOM for the control arm main tubes.
Cut and coped by hand. Both still suck. Didn't really have any particular angles in mind, so I had to whittle at the tubing here and there.
Took several tries of tacking parts in place and testing out the ball joint angle. I should have to angled the ball joint sleeve even more, but it's barely maxed out at full droop, so all is well enough. This is also with a 2" strut lift which tilts the ball joints further than stock.
1-5/8" 0.188 DOM for the control arm main tubes.
Cut and coped by hand. Both still suck. Didn't really have any particular angles in mind, so I had to whittle at the tubing here and there.
Took several tries of tacking parts in place and testing out the ball joint angle. I should have to angled the ball joint sleeve even more, but it's barely maxed out at full droop, so all is well enough. This is also with a 2" strut lift which tilts the ball joints further than stock.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Didn't have much on hand for mirroring the control arms.
I didn't explain it before, but the OE ball joints were tacked into OE position, the $2.99 mock-up ball joints were butted up against the OE ball joints to go ahead and provide a 1.565" offset forward so that the knuckles could be pushed forward the rest of the way with the Rock Krawler joint threads.
Arms and wheels on with a lot of fine tuning up ahead.
I didn't explain it before, but the OE ball joints were tacked into OE position, the $2.99 mock-up ball joints were butted up against the OE ball joints to go ahead and provide a 1.565" offset forward so that the knuckles could be pushed forward the rest of the way with the Rock Krawler joint threads.
Arms and wheels on with a lot of fine tuning up ahead.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
So I don't really know why, but I had started off with opening up sheet metal for tire clearance with a body saw and sawzall in Colorado. That's a rough way to go about it on a soda can on wheels.
Got back to clearing sheet with a grinder and a flap disc a couple weeks ago. This was done with the springs removed from the struts so that I could be sure the tires cleared at full bump. Had my kids turn the wheel back and forth while I marked and shaved.
Got back to clearing sheet with a grinder and a flap disc a couple weeks ago. This was done with the springs removed from the struts so that I could be sure the tires cleared at full bump. Had my kids turn the wheel back and forth while I marked and shaved.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Not sure if [486] was really asking, but all the above and this pic below shows what I've done to clear the steer tires.
I shaved some of the wheel tub pinch weld to provide the rest of the clearance. I'll be welding those shut.
I had to shave a little off the cradle to clear the axle bars.
I shaved some of the wheel tub pinch weld to provide the rest of the clearance. I'll be welding those shut.
I had to shave a little off the cradle to clear the axle bars.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Did some backyard mechanic aligning. Not great, but good enough to take it for a test run around the block.
Noticed that the rear is still low. Got under to contemplate what to do with it and saw that the bushings in the $8 struts were so soft that I was losing some height.
I had some Ballistic poly bushings in my stash, so gave those a try. They were a clearance fit and a little too loose.
The inner sleeve that the Ballistic bushings come with is a slip fit and I would have to cut it to length. The bushing halves were too wide. The aluminum inner sleeve of the rubber bushing was too large of an OD (1") for the poly. Time to hit up the lathe again.
I cut the rubber off the aluminum bushing. Faced the poly halves down to fit in without pushing against each other. Bored the poly out with a 7/8" forstner bit so that I could press in the 1" aluminum sleeve to squeeze the poly out for a snug fit in the OE style strut eyes.
Pressed in a looking like a semi-professional job
Noticed that the rear is still low. Got under to contemplate what to do with it and saw that the bushings in the $8 struts were so soft that I was losing some height.
I had some Ballistic poly bushings in my stash, so gave those a try. They were a clearance fit and a little too loose.
The inner sleeve that the Ballistic bushings come with is a slip fit and I would have to cut it to length. The bushing halves were too wide. The aluminum inner sleeve of the rubber bushing was too large of an OD (1") for the poly. Time to hit up the lathe again.
I cut the rubber off the aluminum bushing. Faced the poly halves down to fit in without pushing against each other. Bored the poly out with a 7/8" forstner bit so that I could press in the 1" aluminum sleeve to squeeze the poly out for a snug fit in the OE style strut eyes.
Pressed in a looking like a semi-professional job
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Forgot this one. Unbolted any part of the control arms allows me to swing one or both sections out of the way. Can't say that this matters much at all, but the OE arms in the rubber bushings were a pain in the ass to push around. I could loosen the nuts on the inner joints to swing the OE arms down, but they still impeded a little.
Bonus is I can fold the custom arms up and stuff them into carry-on luggage
Bonus is I can fold the custom arms up and stuff them into carry-on luggage
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
So I think this thread is just about caught up with the last few days.
Couple front end problems I'm working on:
When we got this car, the passenger side had an extended-travel cv axle on it. Subarus a somewhat known for not being completely equal from side to side and this car had the salvage yard paint marker dots on every part underneath. Not entirely sure what went on.
I put a standard axle in because the extended-length slip splines were going to collide with the cradle quite a bit. Problem being is that no matter what I found to centered up just fine, the standard tripod was riding in the edge of the bell.
Bear in mind the control arm had only move the knuckles forward and not outward. This increases the cv joint angles and barely extends the distance. The driver's side tripod sits perfectly.
Problem numero dos:
I built the front control arms with Rock Krawler joints that I had left over. The front and outer joints are the 7/8" anti-wobble joints. The o-rings provided with the joints are still soft enough the the outer joints flex some and allow the main tube and rear joint to roll a little. This will not pass safety inspection and this also cause the knuckle to swivel a little, causing alignment changes.
I really wish I had built the outers with a eye rod end, but I've not been able to find one with 7/8" thread or one that has the same mounting width as the Krawler joint. For now, I have some nylon washers that should hold.
I have some extended-length axles on the way along with 3" lift block for the rear and new front top hats to take care of the broken units that I got the car with.
Couple front end problems I'm working on:
When we got this car, the passenger side had an extended-travel cv axle on it. Subarus a somewhat known for not being completely equal from side to side and this car had the salvage yard paint marker dots on every part underneath. Not entirely sure what went on.
I put a standard axle in because the extended-length slip splines were going to collide with the cradle quite a bit. Problem being is that no matter what I found to centered up just fine, the standard tripod was riding in the edge of the bell.
Bear in mind the control arm had only move the knuckles forward and not outward. This increases the cv joint angles and barely extends the distance. The driver's side tripod sits perfectly.
Problem numero dos:
I built the front control arms with Rock Krawler joints that I had left over. The front and outer joints are the 7/8" anti-wobble joints. The o-rings provided with the joints are still soft enough the the outer joints flex some and allow the main tube and rear joint to roll a little. This will not pass safety inspection and this also cause the knuckle to swivel a little, causing alignment changes.
I really wish I had built the outers with a eye rod end, but I've not been able to find one with 7/8" thread or one that has the same mounting width as the Krawler joint. For now, I have some nylon washers that should hold.
I have some extended-length axles on the way along with 3" lift block for the rear and new front top hats to take care of the broken units that I got the car with.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
I should also add that everything I was coming up with said that my year of car would have 3.90's. It has 4.11's, limited slip rear, and limited slip center.
Cool build! I have no solutions for you, but I’m digging the look.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
It's not much, but I dig it as well. Had to fix some clapped out suspension, so why not make it worth while.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
A few solutions came in today. The non-brown Santa delivered everything today.
Extended-length axles, which I'll likely have to shave a lot more cradle out for. Some NGK plug wires, which weren't necessary, but I want to change wire and plugs very soon. Some tops hats to get rid of the loud knocking. And some lower camber bolts.
Showing, and I may have posted this pic already, is the slightly positive camber. The upper bolts are the OE camber adjustment. They're cranked inward to the max. With the lift and crazy caster angle, the front is sitting a little higher than expected, so the controls arms are pulling the bottom of the knuckles inward a little.
Rock Auto had these Movetech camber bolts that replace the 14mm lower bolt to fix the camber.
Extended-length axles, which I'll likely have to shave a lot more cradle out for. Some NGK plug wires, which weren't necessary, but I want to change wire and plugs very soon. Some tops hats to get rid of the loud knocking. And some lower camber bolts.
Showing, and I may have posted this pic already, is the slightly positive camber. The upper bolts are the OE camber adjustment. They're cranked inward to the max. With the lift and crazy caster angle, the front is sitting a little higher than expected, so the controls arms are pulling the bottom of the knuckles inward a little.
Rock Auto had these Movetech camber bolts that replace the 14mm lower bolt to fix the camber.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
Stock tires on the left, 31x10.5-15 BFG's on the right.
JNHEscher
Red Skull Member
For future reference:
Front top hats take a 6302RS bearing.
Front female cv roll pin hole dia = 6mm ID, 46mm length
Front top hats take a 6302RS bearing.
Front female cv roll pin hole dia = 6mm ID, 46mm length
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